Zunino Powers Rainiers

Mike Zunino had a game to remember as the Rainiers beat Sacramento on Saturday night, 5-3.

In the top of the first inning, Zunino hit Chris Stratton‘s fifth pitch of the game for a long, long three-run homer to left field to give Tacoma a 3-0 lead.

The Rainiers didn’t score again until there were two outs in the ninth.

With the game tied 3-3, Guillermo Heredia hit a two-out double to bring up Zunino. And Zunino did it again, a two-run homer to left field off Jean Machi to give Tacoma a 5-3 lead.

And that was that. Tacoma won the game, 5-3, as Blake Parker earned his 15th save.

The win was crucial for Tacoma. It assured the club it would be alone in first place at the all-star break regardless of what happens today. It ended a three-game losing streak, and earned fill-in manager Andy McKay his first win at the professional level.

Now we’ll see if the Rainiers can salvage a split of the series by winning the final game today.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: Mike Zunino was pretty good and Tacoma won, 5-3. Kudos to the Rainiers pitching staff which allowed just one hit over the final six innings.

Today: Tacoma (48-40-1) at Sacramento (38-52), 1:05.

Opponent Affiliation: San Francisco Giants.

Season Series: Sacramento leads, 6-5.

Sacramento has been one of the worst teams in the PCL all season long, except for some reason the Rainiers struggle to beat them.

Hot Rainiers: Stefen Romero has a ten-game hitting streak, and he has gone 23-for-60 over his last 14 games… Luis Sardinas has a five-game hitting streak, going 7-for-20… Guillermo Heredia has hit safely in 11 of 14 games since joining the Rainiers.

Look Out For: Gorkys Hernandez has been Sacramento’s best position player. He’s reached base in 13 straight games and is coming off a huge June in which he batted .366 with a .440 OBP… infielder Rando Moreno is 18-for-51 over his last 15 games; he’s one of six position players who have been promoted from Double-A Richmond within the last month.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 12:50 on South Sound Sports 850 AM. The broadcast also streams online via the TuneIn app – just click here.

PCL Scoreboard: Follow all Pacific Coast League games in real-time with links to Gameday screens right here.

The Times has a Mariners notes column which includes some interesting stuff about Daniel Robertson, who was recently called up from Tacoma.

PCL Game Reports:

Fresno swept a doubleheader from Reno and moved past the Aces into second place in the division. This was predicted by commenter Mark Bushnell a few weeks ago – credit where credit is due, Mark. Never rule out a team managed by Tony D.

Iowa scored late to win at Colorado Springs, 8-5. A pinch-hit two-run homer by Tim Federowicz in the eighth inning gave Iowa the lead.

As soon as today’s game ends the all-star break is here. I’m taking Monday and Tuesday off, but I’ll post something prior to the Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday. It starts at 4:00 (Pacific) on Wednesday and will air on the MLB Network and on 850 AM in Tacoma – our regular internet radio stream will probably be working, too.

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